


Two Sides of The Same Coin

by LeedlingwithRageHappy



Series: Prompt Challenge 2016 [14]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Birthday, M/M, One Shot, Romance, hints at smut, joelay - Freeform, not angst but not fluff, potential for a longer fic, practice writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:58:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8006974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeedlingwithRageHappy/pseuds/LeedlingwithRageHappy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel expects a quiet evening at home for his birthday</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Sides of The Same Coin

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #23: A story about a birthday

Joel couldn’t quite believe that he had finally reached the age of 45. 45 and still alone. Not that he particularly cared, but Joel always wondered if things could’ve been different, whether it was with his past relationships or just his life in general. 

Letting out an irritated grunt, Joel pushed himself from his chair and went to pour himself a drink. When he looked at the glass, now filled with amber-colored alcohol, he laughed cynically. How sad it was that he was spending his birthday alone with nothing more than his drinks to keep him company.

Of course, he had told his friends that he wanted an evening alone and they surprisingly obliged. He did feel a little regret now that he realized just how...dismal his life had become. Work, eat, sleep, that’s all he ever did, leaving no time for anything else. That or he just didn’t put in the effort to have the life he so desperately needed.

“I’m not desperate,” Joel mumbled out loud, frustrated at his mind’s words and went back to his chair.

Turning on the TV, Joel flipped through numerous channels until he finally decided on a food show just to have some mindless drivel to distract him. After a few more sips of his alcohol, it didn’t take long for Joel to start dozing off and he set his head back, letting sleep overtake him. 

That is, until a knock on the door jolted him from his haze. Blinking, Joel had to take a moment to adjust before scrunching his eyebrows. He hoped it wasn’t his friends deciding to pay him a visit and he slowly went to answer the door.

Peeking out behind it, Joel was surprised to see a young, dark-haired man waiting patiently in the hallway. He was dressed rather casually with a purple hoodie and cargo shorts, but then again, Joel wasn’t one to judge as he was dressed in a similar manner.

“Hey, I’m Ray. What’s up, dude?”

“Um,” Joel replied still a bit sleepy and confused. “What do you want?”

Ray’s eyebrows went up for a moment, but then the young man let out a small laugh. “I see your friends didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

An awkward cough came out of Ray’s mouth and he began rocking on his feet. “I’m your gift for the night. You know…as entertainment.”

Joel’s heart dropped to his stomach as he felt his soul leave his body for just a moment. Of course his friends would pull something like this. Finally, he regained his thoughts and shook his head.

“I’m sorry you had to come all this way. I didn’t know and honestly, I’m not really interested…”

“Hey, man, it’s cool,” Ray shrugged, seemingly unbothered by all of this. “Hope you have a good night. Oh, and happy birthday.”

The young man flashed a smile before he headed down the hallway and Joel let out a sigh of relief. Almost immediately after that, he felt a wave of guilt crash on him and figured that if Ray had come all this way, he at least deserved to be compensated in some way. 

“Wait,” Joel called after Ray.

The young man turned around a bit too quickly and he cocked his head at Joel. 

“Why don’t you stay here for the night? I mean going out at this time of night is kinda dangerous, you know?”

“I made my way here alone,” Ray grinned, but had already started walking back to Joel’s apartment. “It’s a nice offer, though.”

Joel nodded, opening the door to his place and watched the young man enter.

“Nice place,” Ray commented, making himself at home immediately on the couch. 

“Yeah, it’s...nice,” Joel answered slowly when his mind gave him the word _lonely_ at first. After shutting the door, he sat back down in his chair and stared awkwardly at the TV.

“So, Joel, what’s your story?” Ray broke the silence first.

“My story?” Joel glanced at Ray to make sure he heard right and nearly jumped when he saw the man staring intently at him. “Uh, well, I just work a 9-5 job and then spend the rest of my time sleeping or doing boring things, like stock trading.”

“Isn’t boring if you like doing it.”

“...I suppose.”

The silence had wiggled its way in again and Joel took to wringing his hands together, unsure if he should ask Ray the same question.

“Being a sex worker isn’t as bad as you’d think,” Ray helpfully took the lead. “At least, the place I work for is pretty much amazing. We’re matched with people that we’re compatible with and if a client breaks any of the rules, they’re banned forever.”

Hearing this perspective caught Joel’s interest, making him look to Ray again in hopes that the man would continue his explanations.

“Plus, I’m just a horny motherfucker so it’s nice to get sex all the time.”

Joel blushed at this and he again didn’t know how to reply. He wasn’t even sure he’d have a decent answer. 

“I would like to do something more with my life, though. I mean, it’s great to have a job I enjoy with good pay, but I just feel like I’m meant for something more.” Ray’s upbeat attitude had turned into something a bit sadder, making Joel sympathize immediately. 

After all, he felt as if he was in the same predicament as well and he was relieved to know someone else thought the same of their life. 

Ray shook his head, letting out a small laugh as if he wanted to forget was just said. “Anyways, enough of me blabbing on. Can I ask you a weird question?”

“Uh, sure?” Joel was a little taken aback by the switch and leaned back a little, not realizing how close he had put himself towards Ray.

“What’s a guy like you doing spending their birthday all alone?” 

Ray’s question hit Joel right in the gut, making the anxiety slowly building up inside of him. “Well,” Joel began, shifting around in his seat. “What am I supposed to do at my age?”

A soft look formed on Ray’s face and the young man shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. Sorry for asking such a personal question. It’s just that your friends, even if they meant sending me to you as a joke, really seem to care about you.”

“What makes you say that?” Joel gave Ray a wary glance, wondering if he’d have to put up even more walls to make this guy stop prodding.

“Never heard a bunch of guys talk about their friend so fondly. Like, they said even with your antics, they wouldn’t trade you for anything,” Ray shrugged.

Joel was, to say the least, shocked. He knew the guys liked him, but not to that degree, and it felt weird to be part of their spotlight all of a sudden. Joel was used to just simply being there and not an integral part of their lives. Not to mention that on top of this revelation, Joel now felt very exposed to Ray. 

“Won’t tell anyone else. Cross my heart,” Ray joked lightly, which Joel was actually thankful for. 

He didn’t want to spend time worrying about himself when he had a guest, though, and he tried to think of something to ask Ray out of fairness of conversation. That is until Ray, seemingly full of questions, jumped in first.

“Can I kiss you? It’s okay if you say no, but holy shit, do your lips look amazing right now.”

Joel’s mouth dropped open slightly, which turned out to be a mistake as Ray’s gaze became even more intense, but the man still held his distance, waiting for Joel’s approval. After a second of debating, Joel decided to fuck all and take a chance. 

“Sure.” 

As soon as the word left Joel’s lips, a mouth came crashing down onto his along with a body pressed up against his own. The initial contact made Joel almost reel back, but when Ray’s lips seemed to move effortlessly against his own, Joel found himself wrapping his arms around Ray’s body, pulling the young man in close to get more contact with everything. Joel could feel the smile on Ray’s lips as the young man responded immediately and deepened the kiss between the two. 

“Fuck,” Ray breathed out once they broke apart. 

Joel wanted to say the same as well, but instead gestured for Ray to stand back so he could get himself up from his chair.

“Can we…?” Joel began unsure, but not wanting to hide his body’s wants. 

“Dude, I’m your fucking birthday present. Of course we can,” Ray laughed, immediately dragging Joel down the hallway.

The bedroom was quickly found and all else was abandoned once the two men managed to get out of their clothes between their feverish kissing. When Joel finally felt Ray’s skin against his own, something swelled inside of him that made him realize just how much he had missed this kind of intimacy, the one that went beyond playful gestures and words. Almost immediately, Joel threw away any sense he had and held Ray close with just to know that what he was feeling was real.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah Joel's bday is in like 5 days so have fun with that


End file.
